An 18-wheeler that lost its load after scraping the bottom of the Interstate 10 overpass at Bonnabel Boulevard in Metairie is still blocking the roadway more than five hours later.

Matthew HInton, The Times-Picayunerews wait to unload a tractor trailer that got got wedged and had it's trailer tip over while making a U-turn on Bonnabel Blvd. underneath Interstate 10 in Metairie Friday evening.

The semi-truck was headed eastbound on the South I-10 Service Road just after noon when the driver, Timothy Weckherlin, 54, tried to make a U-Turn at Bonnabel, according to Sgt. Larry Dyess, spokesman for the Jefferson Parish Sheriff's Office. The truck hit a portion of the bridge causing the box trailer to separate from the truck.

In addition to JPSO, state Department of Transportation and Development officials and State Police troopers responded to the scene. The troopers checked the truck for any mechanical failure but left when the accident was determined to be caused by driver error, according to Trooper Melissa Matey, spokeswoman for the State Police.

Dyess said he is not sure when the truck will be removed from the scene. Authorities are waiting for the company to arrive and unload the vehicle before it can be towed.

"We have officers from the traffic division assisting with traffic control," Dyess said.

Weckherlin, of Hawk Point, Mo., was cited with careless operation of a vehicle.